Born in China and raised in Hong Kong, Dr. Liao went to the U.S. in the early sixties after finishing his high school in Hong Kong. He obtained his B.Sc. from California Institute of Technology in Physics in 1967 and continued his graduate studies in Applied Physics at Harvard University. He was awarded a M.A. degree in 1968 and Ph.D. in 1973.

After working for the United Nations for one year, Dr. Liao returned to Hong Kong in 1974 and started teaching at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a lecturer in the Electronics Department. In 1978, he and a number of his colleagues, student and staff founded Varitronix Ltd., one of the very first Liquid Crystal Display manufacturers in the world and the first such indigenous venture. In 1984, Dr. Liao left the University and devoted his full time to the company as its Executive Director. Varitronix became a listed company in 1991 and was selected to be one of the constituent stock of the Hang Seng MidCap 50 Index in 1995. After serving in the company for 24 years, Dr. Liao retired in 2002 and has since been devoting his time to social service, charity and investment activities.

Over the years he served on various university councils including City University of Hong Kong (CityU), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU). In 1998 he was elected to the Board of Trustees of California Institute of Technology in the U.S.

He also served as NEDs for a number of public and private companies, including Esquel.