The judiciary in Hong Kong has been strongly criticised by a senior Chinese official, over a ruling it made that opens the way to mass immigration from the mainland.

The director of the State Council Information Office, Zhao Qizheng, said the decision was a mistake and should be overturned -- an attack which legislators say could lead to the first constitutional confrontational between Hong Kong and Beijing since the handover.

In a ruling last month, Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal confirmed the right of abode in Hong Kong for children from the mainland, if they had one parent permanently resident in the territory.

The ruling was seen as confirmation of Hong Kong's legal autonomy, and one which could pave the way for hundreds of thousands children from the mainland to live there.