东非偷猎者和中国买家之间的关键纽带
BBC新闻 – 一位66岁戴眼镜的中国女人可能不是大多人想象中的象牙走私头目，但这恰恰是坦桑尼亚调查人员对杨凤兰的指控。
She is accused of leading one of Africa'sbiggestivory smuggling rings, responsible for more than700 elephant tusksworth $2.5m illegally leavingTanzania for the Far East.
她被控领导非洲最大的象牙走私集团之一，对价值250万美元的700多根象牙非法流出坦桑尼亚运往远东地区负有责任。
Originally from Beijing, the woman dubbedthe "Ivory Queen" first went to Tanzania in the1970s. She was one ofthe first Chinese students to graduate in Swahili and worked as atranslatorfor Tazara. After the railway was completed in 1975 she returned to Beijing towork inthe government's foreign trade department.
来自北京的这个被称为“象牙女王”的女人，于上世纪70年代第一次去坦桑尼亚。她是斯瓦西里语专业的首批中国毕业生之一，在坦赞铁路任职翻译。1975年铁路完工后，她回到北京，在政府的外贸部门工作。
According to China Daily, It wasn't until1998 that she decided to set up business in Tanzania.In fact, she set up two.She rented a two-storey building in downtown Dar-es-Salaam, opening aChineserestaurant on the ground floor and establishing an investment company, BeijingGreatWall Investment, on the floor above.
根据《中国日报》，直到1998年，她才决定在坦桑尼亚设立企业。事实上，她创办了两个企业。她租下达累斯萨拉姆市中心的一栋两层楼，在底层开了一家中国餐馆，在楼上开了一家投资公司– 北京长城投资公司。
The restaurant proved to be a success butin 2014 she told China Daily: "Now I do not count onthe restaurant tomake money. Instead, I see it as a place where people from China andTanzaniacan communicate, get to know more friends and conduct informationexchanges."
餐馆取得了成功，但2014年她对《中国日报》说：“现在我不靠餐馆挣钱。相反，我把它看成是中国来客和坦桑尼亚人能够交流，结识更多朋友和进行信息交换的地方。”
By 2012 she was secretary-general of theTanzania China Africa Business Council.
到2012年为止，她是坦桑尼亚中非商会的秘书长。
But at the same time, investigators say, MsYang was a major player in a far darker relationshipdeveloping betweenTanzania and China - the illegal ivory trade. They say she was a keylinkbetween poachers in East Africa and buyers in China for more than a decade.
但调查人员说，就在同一时期，杨凤兰是坦桑尼亚和中国之间发展的远为黑暗的关系– 非法象牙贸易 – 的主要玩家。调查人员说，她是十多年来东非偷猎者和中国买家之间的关键纽带。
Tanzania's National and TransnationalSerious Crimes Investigation Unit tracked her for morethan a year. She wasarrested after a high-speed car chase in October 2015 and charged withivorysmuggling between 2000 and 2014.
坦桑尼亚“全国和跨国严重犯罪调查组”跟踪了她一年多时间。她于2015年10月一次高速追车后被捕，被控在2000年至2014年间走私象牙。
Poachers and ivory traffickers arethreatening the very existence of elephants in Central andEast Africa.Tanzania lost more than 60% of its elephants between 2009 and 2014.
偷猎者和象牙贩子正在威胁中非和东非的大象生存。坦桑尼亚2009年至2014年间损失了超过60%的大象。
The role of Chinese buyers in this hardlycomes as a surprise - demand for ivory in China is highbecause of its use inornaments and even in holistic medicine.
中国买家在其中的角色可说毫不令人意外– 一象牙因其在装饰品，甚至在整体医疗中的用途而在中国有着高需求。
The Elephant Action League says Ms Yang is"connected to various companies abroad, allChinese-owned, and circulatesin the upper echelons of Chinese citizens living and working inTanzania".
“象牙行动联盟”组织说，杨凤兰“与各种国外公司– 全都是中资企业 – 有关系， 在生活工作在坦桑尼亚的上层中国公民中周旋。”
Ms Yang denies the charges against her. Iffound guilty she faces up to 30 years in jail.
杨凤兰否认对她的指控。如果被判有罪，她将面临长达30年的监狱生涯。
