TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following the election of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) as Taiwan’s next president, leading members of the United States House of Representatives are planning visits, the Financial Times reported Thursday (Jan. 18).

Earlier this week, Lai received a delegation of former U.S. administration officials. Ex-Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley met with leading politicians in the company of American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chair Laura Rosenberger.

Next week, the president-elect can expect talks with Ami Bera, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, and two Republican co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, Mario Diaz-Balart and Andy Barr. They will be followed by Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the bipartisan House China Committee, according to the Financial Times.

The first delegation will reportedly meet with Lai, but not with Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜). House Speaker Mike Johnson asked fellow Republicans heading important committees to travel to Taiwan following the new president’s May 20 inauguration.

The 45th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act could also give rise to more Taiwan trips by leading U.S. politicians in March or April, the Financial Times reported. Visits around that time and closer to the inauguration can be expected to trigger angry outbursts from China.

However, some in Taiwan described congressional visits as examples of “Instagram diplomacy,” saying interaction with administration and military officials would carry more substance, the Financial Times reported.