Abstract: The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit transforms the way the city looks and the way it operates. Since its completion, the citizen’s daily commuting experience has changed fundamentally and with it, human relationships and even social customs. Jimmy Liao's picture book, translated into English as, The Sound of Colors, is used as an official articulation of the ambition of Taipei as a global city; it is also simultaneously, and paradoxically, an unofficial statement of the residents' aspirations and desires. In this essay, I explore Jimmy Liao's work and its relationship to the recent Taipei political and social environment, to explain his popularity with both the Taipei government and the general readers. I also discuss how the images he creates articulate the global capitalist and consumerist culture that he is both a part of and works against.