Former Navy Officer Yao Cheng Missing Over Two Months After Returning to China, Scholar Wu Zuolai Says He Is Believed Arrested

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US-based scholar Wu Zuolai wrote on social media on October 8, 2026 that Yao Cheng, a former lieutenant colonel staff officer at the PLA Naval Command, has been out of contact for two to three months since returning to China this year, and that, according to Wu's multiple confirmations, Yao is believed to have been arrested. This site cannot independently verify the claim; as of publication, no official channel, human-rights organization, or other news outlet has confirmed any arrest. Yao formerly served as a lieutenant colonel staff officer at the PLA Naval Command. According to a 2021 NTD interview and his own accounts, in 1997 he was ordered to acquire a Russian Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopter through irregular channels and was later made a scapegoat and sentenced to seven years in prison; after his release he worked on women's and children's rights and was imprisoned again for one year and ten months. He later emigrated to the United States, where he ran the YouTube channel 'Yao Cheng on Military Affairs' and became a known figure in overseas Chinese anti-CCP circles. [1][2]

Why it matters

This record is worth keeping for three reasons. First, Yao is no ordinary returnee: a former PLA Naval Command lieutenant colonel who spent nearly a decade as a public anti-CCP voice overseas, his 'return, then silence' trajectory is itself a concrete case for observing the risks dissidents face when returning to China. Second, the 'silence means trouble' arrangement was Yao's own risk assessment, made before he went back; he said in advance that he was prepared to go to prison again. If Wu's account is true, a man who fully understood the risk still chose to return and lost his freedom soon after. Third, the case also shows a polluted information environment: since his return in May, allegations that Yao 'defected' or was 'a CCP agent all along' have circulated widely on independent media without any public evidence; this site records only attributed statements by named persons and multiply-corroborated facts, and does not adopt those allegations. The verification limits must be stated plainly: the arrest claim currently rests on a single named source, Wu Zuolai, who has not disclosed his channels; there is no official confirmation and no second organisation has followed up. This record is therefore graded 'under ongoing verification' and will be updated if new evidence emerges.

Full report

In late May 2026, Yao deleted all content from his YouTube channel and returned to China via the Ruili border crossing in Yunnan, as reported by multiple independent channels and Taiwan's SET News. After his return he posted videos praising China's prices and infrastructure and urged overseas dissidents to 'come back and see,' sparking fierce controversy in the overseas democracy movement: some accused him of defecting to the CCP, while some independent media alleged he had been a CCP agent all along. None of these allegations is supported by public evidence; this site does not endorse them and records only that the dispute exists. [3][4]

According to Wu's post, Yao told him before returning: if I go silent for a month, it means something has happened to me. Wu says Yao also stated he was prepared to go to prison again and would not betray his friends. Wu did not disclose his sources. [1]

Verification note: Yao's return is corroborated by multiple independent programmes, SET News reporting and social-media discussion; his background is documented in NTD's 2021 interview and his own channel biography. The arrest claim currently rests on a single named source — Wu Zuolai's Facebook post of October 8, 2026; this site searched human-rights organisations and news outlets and found no follow-up confirmation. Yao's current whereabouts, whether he is subject to any compulsory measure, and any possible charges remain unverified. This site will continue to follow the case. [1][2][3]

Primary sources

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