BEIJING — With the 85,000-mile Olympic torch relay expected to end here tomorrow, China’s government is praising Chinese living abroad for fighting against Tibet activists who have “sabotaged” the event.

“The Olympic torch relay outside China has been interrupted and sabotaged by a small number of separatists for Tibet independence and they have damaged the image of China and damaged the sanctity of the Olympic flame,” a Chinese vice minister for overseas Chinese affairs, Xu Yousheng, said at a news briefing yesterday.

“The Chinese in the overseas Chinese community have shown outstanding solidarity. They went to the streets to protect the Olympic flame and the Olympic idea and they have demonstrated to all the peace-loving people across the world a just call for peace and friendship,” Mr. Xu said. “I’m very proud of what they have done to protect the Olympic flame.”

In April, protesters disrupted the torch’s trip through London and Paris, sometimes wrestling with the torchbearers and police. In Paris, the torch was repeatedly extinguished during the scuffles, though a master flame kept away from the streets remained lit. A subsequent torch run through San Francisco was diverted and cut short to avoid protesters.

While it is true that only a “small number” of individuals tried to block the torch run, thousands of critics turned out to protest China’s policies toward Tibet, Darfur, press freedom, and other issues. Large crowds of supportive Chinese also lined the route.

Asked by The New York Sun to respond to Chinese living abroad who were critical of the Communist government but supportive of the Olympics, Mr. Xu said he had never encountered such individuals.

“I think the majority of the overseas Chinese have very deep feelings towards China. I do not know what people you are referring to, those who support the Olympic Games in Beijing but do not support the Chinese government,” the official said. “During the time of the Olympic Games, we embrace all the friendly people from across the world and we welcome their participation in the Olympic Games.”

While Mr. Xu professed to be unaware of Chinese who back the Games but not the government, such people are not difficult to find.

“You can be anti-People’s Republic of China (the government) and still be pro-China — for the people, the culture and the country,” a Taiwanese-American from the San Francisco area, John Lin, wrote yesterday on a Web log, 8Asians.com. He said that sentiment drew him to the torch run through San Francisco in April. “I was there to both support the Olympics and protest against the Chinese Communist government,” he wrote.