BEIJING - Visiting Honorary Chairman of the Kuomintang Lien Chan spoke highly of the mainland's manned space program while taking a tour to a Beijing-based space center Wednesday.

During the visit, Lien and his wife, Lien Fangyu, met with the Shenzhou IX astronauts Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang, asking about their experiences inside the space craft.

The three astronauts were sent into space on June 16 last year aboard Shenzhou IX. They successfully operated the spacecraft to conduct both automatic and manual space dockings with the target orbiter Tiangong-1.

Lien hailed the manned space program a "truly great cause". His wife especially praised Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut, calling her a role model for women.

During the visit, Lien also praised the site's advanced technologies and astronaut training facilities.

Lien and his delegation will fly back to Taiwan on Wednesday evening, according to initial plans.