(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners has lasted for 13 years. More than 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners are confirmed to have been persecuted to death. Every year around July 20, many Western politicians and the people from all walks of life publicly condemn the CCP for the persecution of Falun Gong and express their solidarity with the Falun Gong practitioners. Recently, U.S. Congressman Charles B. Rangel from New York wrote the following letter to Falun Gong practitioners in solidarity with the public rally at the United States Capital in Washington DC to "Cease the Persecution and Disintegrate the CCP.”

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives

June 28, 2012

Dear Friends:

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak at your July 12th rally. While I would very much like to attend, I deeply regret that scheduling conflicts will keep me from being with you for this important event. Needless to say, I sincerely appreciate your dedication and commitment in scheduling such a fabulous affair.

The Falun Gong spiritual movement symbolizes all that is great about the United States of America. Your traditional cultural beliefs and practices align directly with this great country’s core values. Your dedication to truthfulness, compassion and tolerance are unsurpassed by any other group and serve as a model for the rest of the American people. Falun Gong’s intense focus on achieving enlightenment and true health through selflessness, profound insight and awareness, inner purity, and balance has led to tremendous improvement in our world, as practitioners develop themselves into better family members, more conscientious employees, and very simply, more active and involved members of society. Let me make myself clear: your belief that the universe is fundamentally good has made it a fundamentally better place.

On this day I stand together with you to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China and to celebrate the Chinese citizens who are taking a principled and peaceful stand by rejecting the violence and inequity of Communist Party rule. Your cause is our cause—the cause of the American people and of the Founding Fathers of this country. Our nation stands on foundations of tolerance and freedom and is proud to open its gates to persecuted peoples, offering a safe haven where they can live and worship freely as they choose. We open those gates to you, and thank you for championing tolerance throughout the land. We condemn the incomprehensible intolerance and aggressive persecution committed against you, and lend our hand in unwavering support of your infinitely just cause its you fight for freedom through only the most peaceful means.

Again, I thank you for the invitation. To keep with my work in Washington, DC and in the District, visit my website: http://rangel.house.gov and please know that you can continue to count on my strong support.

Sincerely,

Charles B. Rangel

Member of Congress