Announcement: postponement of iacl-23 iacl-23 will be held august 26-28, 2015 at hanyang university

ANNOUNCEMENT: POSTPONEMENT OF IACL-23

IACL-23 WILL BE HELD AUGUST 26-28, 2015 AT HANYANG UNIVERSITY

In consideration of the concerns of many prospective participants about the current situation of MERS in Korea, and following the initial suggestion and final approval from IACL, the International Association of Chinese Linguists, IACL-23 has been postponed to August 26-28, 2015. Although we recognize and regret the inconvenience that this change will cause to attendees, IACL believes it is our obligation to host this important event when all participants can visit Seoul and take part in the conference with peace of mind.

IF YOU MUST CANCEL YOUR ATTENDANCE DUE TO THE DATE CHANGE, PLEASE INFORM US BY JULY 31 AT [e-mail].

Hotel Reservations: All existing hotel reservations at Hotel President, ibis Ambassador Dongdaemun, and ibis Ambassador Insadong will be cancelled automatically. (If you still plan to visit Seoul next week anyway, you must reconfirm your reservation directly with the hotel immediately.)

To make hotel reservations for attending the conference in August, please download the reservation form again from the IACL-23 web site and send it to Hotel President or ibis Ambassador Dongdaemun BY JULY 31. The discounted rates for IACL-23 attendees at both hotels will be guaranteed only through July 31. (Note that due to low reservation rates, ibis Ambassador Insadong has been removed from the list of conference hotels.)

Refunds: Because the registration and banquet fees were announced as non-refundable, no refunds will be made to those who requested to withdraw their participation before the official announcement of postponement. Because the date change was made at the insistence of the IACL membership, we regret that we cannot assume responsibility for any financial losses incurred by attendees as a result of the postponement.

However, the Organizing Committee will honor requests for refund of registration fees and banquet fees (less bank transaction costs) for those who must cancel their attendance due to the change of dates. Those wishing to apply for a refund must send a request BY JULY 31 to [e-mail] informing us of your bank name, branch name, swift code, account holder’s official name, and account number. Because of limited resources, we regret that we will be unable to process refunds until after October.

If you are unable to attend IACL-23 in August, the Organizing Committee would be very grateful if you would consider donating your registration fees. This will help defray the financial costs undertaken by the conference organizers associated with the postponement and help to ensure that those who need refunds will receive them.

About MERS: At present the risk of contracting MERS is extremely low for visitors to Korea. Furthermore, the outbreak is expected to be fully controlled within a couple of weeks. For more information about transmission and spread of MERS, please consult the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/mers/about/transmission.html) and this news article from the science journal Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/south-korean-mers-outbreak-is-not-a-global-threat-1.17709 .