The Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF) was established on 27 October 1989 by Jimmy McGregor and Dr Leong Che-hung as a political party. HKDF had four legislators when it was founded: Mr Jimmy McGregor, Dr Leong Che-hung, Ms Leung Wai-tung and Mr Chan Ying-lun. Dr C.H.Leong chaired the HKDF when it was founded but the chairmanship was soon passed on to another medical doctor, Dr Shiu Kin-ying, Patrick in April 1992, who served as HKDF's second chairman until 1997. The HKDF contested the first legislative council direct election in 1992 but did not win any seat. Dr C.H.Leong later left the HKDF to join Meeting Point, which later merged with the United Democrats of Hong Kong to form the Democratic Party of Hong Kong (Dr C.H. Leong did not join the Democratic Party).
The HKDF later lost the last seat in the Legislative Council when Jimmy McGregor was defeated by James Tien in the Commercial First (Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce) Functional Constituency. Jimmy McGregor was later appointed to Governor Chris Patten's Executive Council in October 1995, but he stayed with the HKDF as a senior member and mentor until his retirement to Canada in 1997.
The HKDF started its full scale transformation to become a political and public policy think tank when Mr Lung Ka-lun, Alan took over as its third Chairman from Patrick Shiu Kin-ying in 1997. Today, the HKDF positions itself as an independent, multi-racial, multi-cultural political think tank made up of local people committed to shaping government policy in order to make Hong Kong a more open, progressive society in which all people can share the fruits of its success.
To this end, HKDF focuses on the development and promotion of policies and the primary activity is to seek to influence Hong Kong's economic, political and social development. The HKDF says that it aims to accomplish those goals through the production of position papers on relevant topics; developed within the framework of its policies and principles.
The HKDF holds monthly luncheons addressed by highly distinguished guest speakers on topics of interest to members and useful to its policy development. Additionally, it holds meetings with experts, legislators and organisations for the exchange of ideas and the promotion of its proposals. The Hong Kong Democratic Foundation website lists a long and comprehensive archive of its ideas and advocations. The website is probably one of the largest websites about Hong Kong in terms of number of characters published; but it is quite educational and it is sometimes used as an information source by researchers on Hong Kong affairs.
The political view of the HKDF is liberal and pro-democracy. However, the HKDF has kept its political discussion within the territory of Hong Kong and has stayed away from criticism of Mainland China. HKDF seems to have a strong pro-market view in terms of its economic policy but it also seems to have a strong social agenda as it supports minimum wage legislation in Hong Kong.