Former KMT chair Hung Hsiu-chu marked the 68th anniversary of the 1958 Kinmen artillery battle with a call for peace with Beijing and constitutional restraint at home — a direct swipe at the ruling party's China policy.

• She said once the shelling starts there are no winners among ordinary people, and once constitutional order breaks down, power loses its limits.
• Kinmen took hundreds of thousands of shells over 44 days in 1958, killing soldiers and civilians and destroying families.
• Taiwan's legislature added Aug 23 as an official commemoration day last year, which she framed as remembering war's cruelty rather than reviving hostility.
• She argued war benefits a small group of power holders who harvest passion, power and votes while ordinary families pay the price.
• She warned against using "resist China, protect Taiwan" slogans to justify refusing dialogue, and against branding peace as surrender and exchanges as collusion.

Outlook: Expect the anniversary to keep working as a proxy fight over cross-strait dialogue as Taiwan's parties head deeper into election season.