Charles B. Wang Community Health Center

The center has been criticized for its financial support of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), a social-services provider that has been criticized by the left for its labor practices and from the right for hosting events to educate illegal immigrants on how to avoid detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and alleged connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ^{3 4 5}

History

The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center began in 1971 as the volunteer-run Chinatown Health Fair in Manhattan, responding to unmet health-care needs in the Chinese-American community. By 1979, it had received federal designation as a Section 330 Urban Health Initiative grantee and gradually expanded from a part-time clinic into a full-service health center. Over the following decades, the center, later known as the Chinatown Health Clinic, broadened its services to include pediatrics, internal medicine, dental care, behavioral health, and health education. It also launched youth training programs and public health campaigns, including initiatives focused on hypertension, prenatal care, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis B. In 1994, the organization moved into a renovated city-owned facility at 125 Walker Street, significantly increasing capacity. ¹

In 1999, the Chinatown Health Clinic was renamed in honor of entrepreneur and philanthropist Charles B. Wang following substantial financial support. The center later opened sites in Flushing, Queens, and expanded after the September 11, 2001 attacks to assist those affected with support from the September 11 Fund and the New York Community Trust. By the early 2000s, CBWCHC served over 115,000 patient visits annually and employed over 250 employees. ¹

Services

According to its website, the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center offers comprehensive care including internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, dental, primary eye care, mental health, and social work services, along with targeted public health programs such as health education workshops, a teen resource center, and anti-hate initiatives. The center hosts regular community health events, including open houses, health fairs, and multi-lingual educational workshops ^{2 3}

Ties to the Chinese American Planning Council

The Charles B. Wang Community Health Center is connected to with the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), a New York-based social services provider that has been criticized from the left for its labor practices and from the right for hosting events to educate illegal immigrants on how to avoid detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The Wang Center has publicly partnered with the CPC in addition to providing funding to the group, including partnering on outreach activities such as COVID‑19 vaccine drives in Chinatown and shared health fairs. ⁶

The Daily Caller reported in May 2025 that tax filings revealed the health center donated up to approximately $230,000 to the CPC since 2018. The report also noted that Charles B. Wang, the center’s namesake who died in 2018, was an executive director of the China Overseas Exchange Association (COEA), which operated under the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department and later was absorbed by a new organization called the China Overseas Friendship Association. ⁵