Fridae

A Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has ordained the country's first openly gay Christian minister at a ceremony on Sunday.

According to Agence France-Presse citing news reports, Tseng Shu-min was ordained a minister in the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taipei although church officials were not available for comment.

Taiwan's gay groups applauded the move in which Taiwan Gay and Lesbian Association's Chan Ming-chou described it as a "milestone" in the improvement of human rights on the island.

"After efforts for so many years, now local gays affiliated with the Christian church can have their own priest," Chan told AFP.

"Either from religion's or domestic gay activity's point of view, it is of significance."

Parliamentarian Hsiao Bi-khim from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party also supported the gay priest's ordination.

She told the media reporters before she participated in the ceremony, "We should give him blessings and encouragement� Hopefully basic human rights would be respected here in Taiwan."

The party has been pressing for the enactment of a Human Rights Basic Law which enshrines the right of homosexual couples to marry and adopt children, among other provisions, including abolishing the death penalty.

In June 2001, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to strip a discriminatory ban on ordaining gay and lesbian clergy from the church's constitution. The national church also allows married people and "chaste" singles to lead churches, effectively barring ordination of non-celibate gays.

While the Presbyterian Church's (USA) constitution, The Book of Order, explicitly defines marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman, churches has however consistently supported civil rights for same-sex partners and perform holy unions that bless same-sex relationships, as long as they are not deemed marriage which is reserved for a man and woman.