New Taipei City's government is now in mediation with the contractor behind its official document system, after the system was found to possibly contain hidden Chinese software — a security worry that reaches far beyond one city.

• The company involved won or took over work on 78 government systems across Taiwan, raising national security concerns.
• In New Taipei's government cloud project, one firm won the bid and then passed the work to this company, a subcontracting chain that makes accountability murky.
• The city says it has filed legal action over breach of contract, and mediation talks are set for Sept. 14.
• A gap has opened over the criminal side: the mayor said files were handed to prosecutors, but investigators said they never received them.
• The city's research and evaluation office has promised to publish the results of the talks and the case's progress.

Outlook: The Sept. 14 mediation will show whether the city can recover damages, while pressure grows to explain why the criminal referral appears to have stalled.