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President Paul Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is sub-Saharan Africa's second-oldest ruler, after Robert Mugabeof Zimbabwe.
自1982年執政以來，總統Paul Biya是撒哈拉以南非洲第二年長的統治者，僅次于津巴布韋領導Robert Mugabe。
Yet despite his age, he has mastered social media, in the sense of figuring out how to silence digital dissent.
盡管年事已高，從消滅網絡抗議的意義上來說，他仍掌控著社交媒體。
After young Arabs used smartphones to organise the uprisings of the Arab Spring, despots everywhere grew nervous.
自從阿拉伯年輕人使用智能手機組織阿拉伯之春的起義后，各國獨裁者都緊繃神經。
But then they found the off-switch.
但是之后他們發現了關閉網絡這一靈丹妙藥。
Last year 11 African governments, including Zimbabwe and the inaptly named Democratic Republic of Congo, interfered with the internet during elections or protests.
包括津巴布韋和剛剛命名的剛果民主共和國在內，去年11個非洲政府在選舉或抗議期間對互聯網實施過干擾。
The government cut off the internet to a part of the country known for its technology start-ups, which probably hasn't done much for economic growth.
政府切斷了以新興技術公司聞名的部分地區的互聯網，這對經濟增長可能沒起多大作用。
Before the crackdown internet usage in Cameroon had been soaring, with penetration rising to 18% in 2016, from 4.3% in 2010.
但在遭受限制之前，喀麥隆的互聯網使用率一直急劇上升。從2010年到2016年，互聯網滲透率從4.3%上升至18%。
Phones are also ubiquitous, which may be why the communications ministry has been sending text messages, sometimes several times a day, warning of prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone “found guilty of slander or propagating false declarations on social media”.
手機也無處不在，這或許解釋了為什么交通部一直在發布短信，三令五申，警告任何人“只要被發現在社交媒體上誹謗他人或散布謠言”，會面臨最長20年的監禁。
Journalists have been arrested and a popular radio station has been taken off the air.
在這場鎮壓中，記者被逮捕，一家廣受歡迎的電臺被停播。
Although the conflict in Cameroon has mainly affected the English-speaking minority, the government's heavy-handedness suggests that worse may lie ahead.
雖然喀麥隆的沖突主要影響說英語的少數群體，但政府的大張旗鼓表明更糟糕事情的可能就在前面。
Next year the country's 84-year-old leader is expected to run for a seventh term.
明年84歲的喀麥隆總統有望獲得第七次任期。
With no clear successor or challenger in sight, Mr Biya probably has no need to ratchet up repression.
既然眼前沒有明確的繼任者或者挑戰者，Biya先生或許沒有必要升級這場鎮壓。
But meddling with the internet can be addictive, like the internet itself.
但是干涉互聯網可能會讓人上癮，就像網絡本身一樣。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
