Taiwan Prefecture
He was born in the Upper Tōa-to͘ District () in , Taiwan Prefecture (Qing-dynasty Taiwan; modern-day Qingshui, Taichung, Taiwan) in 1883, and caught the attention of Japanese authorities repeatedly, for larceny and robbery, as well as the murder of Chen Liang-chiu (). Liao died in 1909, trapped in a cave in present-day Bali District, New Taipei City, with an accomplice, Yang Lin, who had colluded with the police.