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A file photo of Sealand.
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For sale: the world's smallest country with its own flag, stamps, currency and passports.
Apply to Prince Michael of Sealand if you want to run your own nation, even if it is just a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea.
Built in World War Two as ananti-aircraftbase to repel German bombers, the derelict platform was taken over 40 years ago by retired army major Paddy Roy Bates who went to live there with his family.
He declared the platform, perched seven miles off the east coast of England and just outside Britain'sterritorial waters, to be the principality of Sealand.
The self-styled Prince Roy adopted a flag, chose a national anthem and minted silver and gold coins.
The family saw off attempts by Britain's Royal Navy to evict them and also an attempt in 1978 by a group of German and Dutch businessmen to seize Sealand by force.
Roy, 85, now lives in Spain and his son Michael told BBC Radio on Monday his family had been approached by estate agents with clients "who wanted a bit more than a bit of real estate, they wanted autonomy."
He suggested Sealand, which has eight rooms in each tower, could be a base for online gambling or offshore banking.
Asked to describe the delights of living on what he described as a cross between a house and a ship, the 54-year-old said: "The neighbors are very quiet. There is a good sea view."
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(Reuters)
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出售信息：世界上最小的國家，國旗、郵票、貨幣、護照樣樣俱全。
如果你想擁有一個由自己“統(tǒng)治”的國家，那就趕緊向“海國”的邁克爾王子申請購買吧！不過這個“海國”是戰(zhàn)爭時代建造的堡壘，座落于北海中的兩根混凝土塔柱之上。
“海國”的前身是一個建于二戰(zhàn)時期抵御德國轟炸的防空基地。40年前，已退休的帕迪·羅伊·貝茨海軍少校攜家人“占領(lǐng)”了這個被遺棄的平臺，并宣布成立“海國”公國。
“海國”距英國東海岸僅7公里，而且恰好位于英國的領(lǐng)水之外。
自封為王的羅伊王子專為“海國”確定了國旗、國歌，還發(fā)行了金銀鑄幣。
但英國海軍卻多次試圖將貝茨家族從“海國”驅(qū)逐出去。1978年，一群來自德國和荷蘭的商人曾試圖通過武力占領(lǐng)這塊“領(lǐng)土”。
今年85歲的羅伊現(xiàn)居住在西班牙，他的兒子邁克爾于本周一向BBC廣播透露，一些房地產(chǎn)中介日前與他們聯(lián)系過，因為有些客戶“想購置一處可以‘自治’的房產(chǎn)”。
“海國”的兩個堡壘里各有八間屋子，邁克爾王子建議，這塊地方適合作在線賭博或離岸銀行業(yè)務(wù)用。
談到住在這個“船房一體”的“海國”的最大優(yōu)點時，54歲的邁克爾王子說：“這里沒有鄰居的煩擾，而且還能看到海景。”
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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