In this sense, his films play a role similar to that of medicine, the role of healer.
"Feelings and experiences of people around me, plus my own views on daily events, give me ideas for stories.
"Comic books refresh me when my creativity dries up," said Mr. Cheung.
He said the works directors like Mr. Krzyszt of Kieslowski and Mr. Stanley Gilbert inspire him on directing techniques.
"My religion also affects me greatly," he added.
He said he is a Christian.
And he insists on not making two kinds of stories. They are "stories transmitting misleading messages or endangering lives of the actors and actresses just to increase the thrillof the stories."
Said he: "They are unethical and deviate from the principles of humanity."
He said that one reason that Goodbye Hero ended in a failure was that he could not decide whetheror not to put dangerous but "exciting" episodes into the film.
Despite this, he has received many awards which serve as encouragement during his frustrated moments.
"They only represent my successes at particular moments, not forever. This industry is like a race. All I can do is to try my best and keep running. I cannot run backward. I must be as hard as the award statues.
"When I was young, I did not know what dramas or movies really were. I just liked acting, and I admired those who made their success in this fancy industry.
"Everyone has to set goals in life. Mine is to do something great in dramas," he said.
This goal drove him to enrol in the 10th Artiste Training run by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited after he was graduated from Secondary 5.
Graduated in 1983, he worked at Cinema City Company Limited and then at Golden Harvest. Now, he works at United Filmmakers Organization Limited.
He tried his hand in directing in 1986 - Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch was his first piece. But it was not a good experience, said he.
"The team obeyed the boss rather than me. In fact, the cast was good, including such experienced actors as Mr. Samo Hung, Mr. Ng Ma and Mr. Cheung Kin Ting," he said.
To make himself better qualified and more confident to be a director, he took six months off to further his studies in Japan.
In 1988, he established his own film studio, Dream Factory Film Company Limited. His real debut as a film director was with Beyond the Sunset in 1989. In this project, he was the producer, director and screenwriter. Everything was under his control.
From then on, he has been making films of his own. Most are stories concerning love and human feelings.
"During the years in the Artiste Training Centre, I learned that drama is a paradox of love. The unique characteristic of human beings is love, both the good and the evil sides of it.
"Actors and actresses express this love and feelings. Directors reflect it by using language of film. This is the foundation of film-making. Without love as the main ingredient, why don't we produce documentaries or news merely?"
Mr. Cheung regarded the technique of bringing out the love essence is to make it "simple and direct".
"Look at your work from the angle of the audience. If you can convince and touch yourself, than you can, probably, create the same effect on the movie-goers," said he.
"Films too difficult for the general audience to understand are not good. Love does not need any excessive or unnecessary decoration and packaging."
In channelling his messages to his films, he divides them into two parts: one is his personal reflections; the other is indirect and hidden, leaving space forthe audience to think.
Cageman(1991), for example, portrays three problems, all of them symbolized by cages. The first is the social problems arising from the lives of people in cages. The second portrays the entrance into a stronger cage, which is an analogy for the political uncertainty of 1997. The third shows the cage in people's inner parts: the urge for wealth and fame.
Explained Mr. Cheung: "The first one is more obvious, and I have expressed many opinions on it. The others require the audience to explore and judge by themselves."
In short, he described films as a kind of "medicine".
"There are things that we cannot get in reality. Films make our dreams come true, giving us hope, warmness and relief. Back to the Future and Jurassic Park are good examples.
"Some people are afraid of or cannot speak up on social inequalities or problems. Through films, the catharsis effect releases some of their grief," said Mr. Cheung.
That is why action adventure and war movies always appeal to the masses, said he.
"Directors are story-tellers. Recognizing the dreams of the audience, they organize and guide the whole team to make these dreams come true. Theycan also be called 'dream arrangers', as what we called 'music arrangers'," he said.
When asked what he would be if he ceased to be a "dream arranger", Mr. Cheung said he would be a worker or a cleaner of horse stalls on farms _ anything that makes him feel close to nature.
"After all, money is not important," said he.