People queue up for food and supplies provided by charity groups in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 5, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

 The Chinese Embassy in South Africa has expressed strong condemnation of the criminal acts against Chinese citizens in the country that have caused seven Chinese people to be killed in the past 50 days, according to a statement that the embassy published on Monday. 

The statement specifically mentioned the case of Zhong Zhiwei, former president of the Township Association of East China's Shandong Province in South Africa, who, along with his wife, was shot dead by bandits in broad daylight in Johannesburg on August 13.

Zhong's case has caused great indignation among Chinese both at home and overseas, and prompted a campaign calling on the South African government to find the murderers quickly and bring them to justice, it said.

The embassy immediately contacted the local police to assist them in investigating the case and lodged solemn representations with the South African government on the recent violent crimes, urging them to mobilize all forces and resources to solve the cases soon, said the statement. 

The Commissioner of South African police said the police have granted the highest rank to the relevant cases of Chinese nationals, considering the close relations between the two countries and the great contributions that the Chinese community has made to the development of South Africa over the years. 

Four out of seven cases have already been solved, and 10 suspects have been arrested.

The embassy has alerted Chinese nationals on the deteriorating security situation in South Africa due to the effect of the COVID-19 epidemic, which has slowed down the country's economic development and exacerbated unemployment.