【文匯網訊】蒂姆·庫克公開發聲全文：
Throughout my professional life, I』ve tried to maintain a basic level of privacy. I come from humble roots, and I don』t seek to draw attention to myself. Apple is already one of the most closely watched companies in the world, and I like keeping the focus on our products and the incredible things our customers achieve with them.
在我的職業生涯中，我一直努力維持最基本的隱私。我來自草根階層，我不想引起對我自身的關注。蘋果業已是全球最受關注的企業之一，我希望人們關注於我們的產品，以及我們的客戶利用我們的產品所實現的傑出成就上。
At the same time, I believe deeply in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, who said: 「Life』s most persistent and urgent question is, 『What are you doing for others?』?」 I often challenge myself with that question, and I』ve come to realize that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important. That』s what has led me to today.
與此同時，我深信馬丁·路德·金的一句話：「一個人一輩子要回答的最經常、最急迫的問題是：『你在為他人做些什麼？』」我經常向我自己提出這個問題，而我已經意識到，我希望保留個人隱私的願望一直在阻礙我做更重要的事。所以，才有今日之事。
For years, I』ve been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I』m gay, and it doesn』t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me. Of course, I』ve had the good fortune to work at a company that loves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when you embrace people』s differences. Not everyone is so lucky.
多年來，我一直對很多人公開我的性取向。蘋果的很多同事都知道我是同性戀，這似乎並沒有讓他們對我另眼相待。當然，我非常有幸在這家公司工作，他們喜歡創造力和創新，他們知道，只有接納人們的多樣性，公司才能蒸蒸日上。並非每個人都像我這樣幸運。
While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven』t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I』m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.
雖然我從未否認我的性取向，但截至目前，我也沒有公開承認過。所以，我想在此闡明：我很自豪我是同性戀，我認為身為同性戀是上帝賜予我的最好禮物。
Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It』s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It』s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It』s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you』re the CEO of Apple.
同性戀身份讓我更加深刻地體會到，作為一位少數派究竟意味著什麼。它給我提供了一個視角，讓我能夠深入洞察其他少數派每天都在應對怎樣的挑戰。它讓我更加善解人意，並由此經歷了一段更加豐富的人生。它有時讓我感到不舒適，心神不寧，但它給予我信心，讓我有勇氣張揚個性，走自己的路，超越逆境和偏執。它還賦予我一身猶如銅牆鐵壁般的犀牛皮——當你是蘋果公司CEO的時候，這層皮囊隨時都能派上用場。
The world has changed so much since I was a kid. America is moving toward marriage equality, and the public figures who have bravely come out have helped change perceptions and made our culture more tolerant. Still, there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation.
滄海桑田。這個世界已不復我孩提時代的模樣。美國正在邁向婚姻平等，勇敢出櫃的公眾人物已經改變了世人的觀念，促使我們的文化變得更加寬容。不過，美國大多數州的法律依然允許僱主僅僅基於員工的性取向而將其解雇。在許多地方，房東依然可以因租戶是同性戀而將其驅逐出門。還有一些地方禁止我們探訪生病的伴侶或分享他們的遺產。無數同性戀者，尤其是孩子，每天生活在恐懼和被虐待的屈辱之中。
I don』t consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I』ve benefited from the sacrifice of others. So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it』s worth the trade-off with my own privacy.
我不認為自己是一位活動家，但我意識到自己受惠於其他人的犧牲。因此，如果聽說蘋果公司CEO是一名同性戀者，可以幫助一些人更加坦然地接受自己的同性戀身份，或者給一些飽受孤獨之苦的同性戀者帶來一絲慰藉，或者能激勵人們堅持他們的平等觀念，那麼我犧牲一點個人隱私還是非常值得的。
I』ll admit that this wasn』t an easy choice. Privacy remains important to me, and I』d like to hold on to a small amount of it. I』ve made Apple my life』s work, and I will continue to spend virtually all of my waking time focused on being the best CEO I can be. That』s what our employees deserve—and our customers, developers, shareholders, and supplier partners deserve it, too. Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one』s sexuality, race, or gender. I』m an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things. I hope that people will respect my desire to focus on the things I』m best suited for and the work that brings me joy.
我要承認，這並非一個輕鬆的選擇。隱私對我仍然重要，而且我希望還能保有一點點隱私。我已經將蘋果公司作為自己畢生的工作，而且仍會將清醒的每一分鐘，都專注地致力於成為最卓越的CEO。這是我們的員工應得的——我們的客戶、程序員、股東和供應商合作夥伴同樣如此。社會進步的部分意義在於認識到不能僅憑一個人的性取向、族裔或性別來對其作出評判。我是個工程師，是別人的叔叔，是大自然愛好者，是健身狂人，是一個南方家庭養育的兒子，是體育運動迷，此外還有眾多其他身份。我希望大家能尊重我的願望，我會集中精力於自己最擅長的領域，繼續專注帶給我快樂的工作。
The company I am so fortunate to lead has long advocated for human rights and equality for all. We』ve taken a strong stand in support of a workplace equality bill before Congress, just as we stood for marriage equality in our home state of California. And we spoke up in Arizona when that state』s legislature passed a discriminatory bill targeting the gay community. We』ll continue to fight for our values, and I believe that any CEO of this incredible company, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, would do the same. And I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up.
我是如此幸運，領導了一家長久以來倡導人權和人人平等的公司。我們曾在國會堅定地支持職場平等法案，也曾在公司所在的加州支持婚姻平等。此外，當亞利桑那州立法機關通過了一項針對同性戀族群的歧視法案時，我們曾站起來抗議。我們將繼續為自己的價值觀而奮鬥，我也相信，在這家公司，換成任何人當CEO，不管他們的族裔、性別或性取向如何，都會做同樣的事情。我個人將繼續為所有人的平等而大聲疾呼，直至生命最後一刻。
When I arrive in my office each morning, I』m greeted by framed photos of Dr. King and Robert F. Kennedy. I don』t pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I』m doing my part, however small, to help others. We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.
我每天早上進入辦公室時，都會看到馬丁·路德·金和羅伯特·肯尼迪(Robert F. Kennedy)的相框。我寫這篇文章並不是要虛張聲勢，把自己與他們並列，而是為了讓我在看到這些照片時，知道自己正在傾盡所能幫助他人，無論我的貢獻是多麼微不足道。我們正一磚一瓦地鋪設一條通向正義的陽光之路。這就是我添上的一塊磚。 | 
