A 1933 Board of Alderman ordinance declared that 3,500 Chinese-owned laundromats in New York City were required by law to pay $25 in annual fees and post a $1,000 bond. Though this ordinance did not explicitly target Chinese business owners, it specified that only single-owned businesses would be required to pay these fines. The ordinance used the fact that most Chinese laundromats were single-owned to target the minority group. Seeking legal protection, laundrymen looked to the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), an organization that promised the protection of all Chinese-owned businesses, so long as annual dues were paid. In turn, the CCBA asked for additional payments to open an investigation of the ordinance. Out of frustration, the laundry owners formed the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance in 1933. They had the help of Y.K. Chu, a regular critic of the CCBA and the editor of the Chinese Journal of Commerce.

The following year, it was rumored that the CCBA bankrolled the formation of the Chinese Hand Laundry Association, a rival to the Alliance. The Alliance was never shy of their leftist and radical beliefs and shed many members to its rival conservative Association in its early years.

Politically homogenous following the defections, the Alliance formed a newspaper to voice their beliefs. The China Daily News was headquartered at 105 Mott Street, just around the corner from the Alliance's headquarters on Canal Street. The Daily News proved so successful that they were able to purchase the entire building at 191 Canal Street.

Though Alliance and the China Daily News found success early on, darker days were ahead. The Korean War and the Cold War were detrimental to both groups. Decreased subscribers and financial strain required the news company to sell 191 Canal Street in 1951. A year later, the China Daily News was charged by the Justice Department charged with violating the law. The paper was caught printing advertisements with instructions on how to send remittances to families in China, thereby violating the Trading with the Enemy Act.

Eugene Moy was announced guilty in 1954, and he died in jail a few years later. Other of the paper's staffers were deported, some fled the country. To make matters worse, newspaper vendors were fearful to even carry the paper. Reportedly, even subscribers were hounded by the FBI. The paper survived the Cold War, but just barely. It was funded by leftists across the country who donated to its cause. The small circulation ceased to exist in 1989, as did the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance.