Mandarin Everyone Everything Everywhere

Mandarin Chinese is one of the most ancient language that is still widely used today.  The written language was created and established more than three thousand years ago.  But it's pronunciation was not unified until 18th century.  In 1723, Emperor Yongzheng announced that Mandarin would be the only Chinese language to be used in any official situations.  Anyone who could not speak Mandarin fluently should not be given any important government positions.

My name is Luke, I grow up in Taipei and I speak English and Mandarin.  I earned my Bs and Ms Degrees in aerospace engineering from UCLA in 2002.  I have worked as an engineer for many years.  Currently, I am concentrating on real estate investment.

The goal of this meetup group is to gather people who have already interested in this language and have mastered some basic skills.  I have taught in some Chinese schools in Southern California and Seattle as a part time job.  I can tell you this, most Chinese kids who have grown up in America hate to speak Chinese.  Not only because it's very difficult for them to learn, they also could not understand the rich culture behind it.  If you are one of those people, I cannot change what you have believed.  This meetup group is only for those adults who are already interested and want to learn more about it.

This is what I am going to do in each meetings.  I will first give a 10min speech, usually about Chinese language, culture, society, history, or politics.  I always love to tell a good story about Chinese history or politics.  I will speak very slowly, with crystal clear voice and in perfect Mandarin.  After my speech, everyone is freely to express their opinions about the topic.  Please make it short so I will correct your grammar, your sentence structure and most importantly, your pronunciation.

If you cannot express yourself efficiently in Mandarin, you may speak in English, and I will help you to learn how to say it in Chinese. 
If you are totally lost and cannot understand a word out of my 10min speech, my best advice is not to come at all.

Do you agree with me?  If so, please come to our future meetings.  You are also welcome to tell me what do you think is the ideal way to conduct Mandarin interest group meetings.  I'd love to hear your opinions in English or Chinese.