China reprints an article by a FECRIS board member from an obscure Italian publication to prove that “foreign media” fully support its propaganda.
by Alessandro Amicarelli — Luigi Corvaglia, the self-styled anti-cult crusader and FECRIS board member, has once again graced the digital pages of “AgoraVox”—that Italian bastion of citizen journalism where anyone with a keyboard and a grievance can play pundit. But this time, his article didn’t just linger in the depths of AgoraVox’s volunteer-driven archives. It was swiftly picked up and republished by the China Anti-Xie-Jiao Association, the largest anti-cult organization in the world—though calling it “not private” is a euphemism. It’s a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and its mission is to sanitize repression with a veneer of moral panic.
Corvaglia’s “AgoraVox” article translated and prominently reprinted by the China Anti-Xie-Jiao Association.
It’s not the first time anti-cult articles from the most obscure corners of the European internet—often penned by gossip experts—have been translated and triumphantly republished by Chinese state-controlled media. The goal? To present them as proof that “the European press” is in lockstep with the CCP’s crusade against so-called “cults.” The trick works best when the average comrade in, say, Southern Mongolia, has never heard of “AgoraVox” and assumes it’s the Italian equivalent of “Le Monde” (not that “Le Monde” is unimpeachable when it comes to “cults”; however, it is not “AgoraVox”).
This sleight of hand is more than just a misunderstanding—it’s a strategy. One might reasonably suspect that such articles are written in Europe not to inform European readers, but to be recycled in Chinese translation as ideological trophies. It’s propaganda laundering with a continental twist: publish it in a volunteer-run blog, translate it into Mandarin, and voilà—Western validation, manufactured to order.
Corvaglia’s piece is a familiar cocktail of accusations against Falun Gong, The Church of Almighty God, CESNUR, and “Bitter Winter.” These are the usual suspects in his ideological dragnet. The allegations are so repetitive that they could be copied from his previous writings. They don’t merit a point-by-point rebuttal—not because they’re unassailable, but because they’re tiresome.
What’s truly fascinating is Corvaglia’s evolution from anti-cult commentator to full-blown apologist for the Chinese regime. He doesn’t just defend China’s crackdown on religious minorities—he ventures into murkier water. He denies accusations of organ harvesting, citing Australian and British skepticism, while conveniently ignoring the 2022 European Parliament’s resolution condemning forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners. Organ harvesting isn’t a fringe conspiracy—it’s a documented atrocity. The European Parliament, in its 2022 resolution, expressed “deep concern over persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting.”
The Chinese publication evidences that Corvaglia is “a member of the Board of Directors of FECRIS.”
Corvaglia dismisses the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin, claiming CESNUR’s “Bitter Winter” promotes it with force,” which in the Chinese translation becomes “fabricates it.” In reality, “Bitter Winter” presented it hypothetically. Still, now multiple U.S. federal agencies endorse the theory, including the FBI, which called it “likely,” and the CIA, which used the expression “much likely.” More recently, the media reported that “Germany’s foreign intelligence service believed there was an 80-90% chance that coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese lab.” However, Corvaglia repeats the Chinese propaganda argument that the laboratory origin theory comes from the “cults.”
Nor is the torture of members of The Church of Almighty God another “Bitter Winter” “invention.” The United Nations Committee Against Torture ruled in 2021 that Church of Almighty God members in China are “at risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Corvaglia’s and China’s attempt to paint “Bitter Winter “and CESNUR as the sole sources of criticism against the Chinese repression of The Church of Almighty God is laughable. The UN, U.S. State Department, and numerous NGOs have insisted on the brutal repression of the church in China. Not only this: the Chinese government itself has published scores of court decisions sentencing hundreds of the church’s members to long jail terms.
The article raises uncomfortable questions about FECRIS’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This isn’t the first time FECRIS affiliates have cozied up to Chinese authorities. As documented by “Bitter Winter,” FECRIS representatives attended conferences in China, lending legitimacy to China’s anti-cult crackdown. The ideological alignment has persisted, with FECRIS figures defending China’s policies even outside religion.
Then Vice President of FECRIS Alexander Dvorkin speaking at an anti-cult event in Harbin, China, in 2017.
Corvaglia’s piece is less a critique of “cults” and more a manifesto of ideological allegiance. It’s not just about defending repression—it’s about reframing it as rational, scientific, and necessary. When a Western activist begins parroting CCP talking points on COVID, organ harvesting, and religious persecution, one must ask: Is this activism, or is it propaganda?
And if FECRIS continues to embrace this narrative, perhaps it’s time democratic governments and serious human rights watchdogs start asking who’s really pulling the strings.
Article published also on Bitter Winter
