She refused to abort her third child after already having twins and was detained in an ankang (psychiatric hospital) and then dismissed from her job.
A frequent petitioner, Mao served a year and a half of re-education through labor in 2004-2005 and two and half years in prison for "intentional destruction of property" in 2006-2008.
She was released from Shanghai Women's Prison on 29 November 2008.
Since then she has served another year in RTL after protesting in support of Liu Xiaobo.
She was briefly released, in February 2011, but under house arrest.
She was almost immediately taken again, and placed in Shanghai City Prison Hospital, where she was previously tortured and ill-treated.