Tens of thousands of Chinese netizens have been showing great interest in the ongoing fourth round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, leaving words on the bulletins of major Chinese Internet portals.

The new round of talks, which involves China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, began at 9:00 AM Tuesday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, the venue for the previous three rounds.

The major Chinese news websites, xinhuanet.com, sina.com, sohu.com, yahoo.com, 163.com etc., have all set up regular columns for the topic of six-party talks, providing the latest information about the ongoing talks, photo and video news, background information and commentary.

By 10:00 AM Friday morning, up to 4,446 messages had been left by netizens on a bulletin of the six-party column on sina.com, while another 4,367 and 2,174 messages been left on sohu.com and 163.com, respectively.

Some netizens said the current round of talks had not set a time limit yet, which leaves enough room for parties concerned to seek progress. Others said the resumption of the talks not only brings new hopes but also adds urgency to the negotiation itself. Many netizens expressed their hopes that the new round of talks can result in substantive progress.

Liang Chunyuan, manager of sina.com news center, said netizens who left words in its special column for six-party talks always point out the core of the issue. More and more netizens attach importance to China's surroundings.

An official with xinhuanet.com said that according to statistics, news related to the six-party talks is read more than that about other domestic or international events.

Liu Juan, director of bulletin department of xinhuanet.com, believed there are two reasons leading to netizens' focus on the six-party talks. First, since the talks are being held in Beijing, China's national capital, netizens have hope for the talks. Second, home and overseas media have produced "abundant and timely" reports on the talks, helping netizens follow the issue.

On a special column on 163.com for six-party talks, thousands of netizens joined an online discussion on whether the new round of talks can reach "substantive progress".

On the xinhuanet.com bulletin, a netizen named "huguihua706" left the following words: "I hope the six-party talks will reach consensus and bring hope for peace." 

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2005)