HONG KONG: The love may have turned to hate but the obsession remains. Thus ended the latest episode in the "idol worshipping" saga of the Yang family from Gansu, which has been one of China's top news items for the past three days.

The story of 29-year-old Yang Lijuan, a die-hard fan of Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau, came to the public's attention after her father, Yang Qinyi, committed suicide in Hong Kong on Monday.

Yang has been obsessed with the star since she was 16. Believing they had a special bond, she stopped going to school and instead spent all of her time watching videos of Lau's concerts and clipping photos of him from magazines.

Yang's parents finally decided to help her fulfill her wish to meet Lau in person.

Last week, their wish came true when the family met Lau in Hong Kong even if it was after staking out his house.

However, after Yang said she'd found the meeting unsatisfying she got to speak to Lau for just a few minutes in a group setting her father on Monday leapt to his death into Victoria Harbour to protest.

"I can't bear to see the pain my child suffers," he wrote in his suicide note. "After I die, you have to meet my child. Or I won't shut my eyes."

The story has provoked much debate, with many people decrying the evil of "idol worshipping".

But psychologists say that was not the central issue in this tragedy.

This is an extreme case of manipulative behavior, nacissism and parental failure, said Yue Xiaodong, a social science associate professor at Hong Kong City University.

(China Daily 03/30/2007 page5)