Campaign Roundup (2)

Ronald Reagan said the President's "distorted charges" against him at the Democratic convention were an effort to avoid talking about the Carter record. "They just can't sell that to the American people," Reagan said.

Referring to Carter's remark that Reagan lived in a "fantasy land," he said: "If you're in a fantasy land, maybe eveything looks like a fantasy land."

Reagan joined running mate George Bush for a meeting with reporters Aug. 16 before the latter's departure on a nine-day trip to China and Japan. Reagan said his call for official American relations with Taiwan -- instead of the private basis that now exists -- would not mean closing the US Embassy in Peking.

Bush, who served as US liaison to China in the Nixon administration, said his discussions with Chinese leaders in Peking "will be on the United States as a deterrent to Soviet aggression [and] on our commitment to trade."

Reagan began a four-day campaign trip Aug. 17, with stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston.m